This invention relates in general to configuring a print client for a printer and, more particularly, to a system and method for configuring the client using electronic mail messages.
It is often desirable for a print client to send a print job to a printer using the Internet as a path for sending the print job. However, conventional printing methods using the internet fail when trying to pass through a firewall. A firewall does not allow print jobs to pass through.
One method used by the prior art to print through a firewall is to attach the print job to an electronic mail (e-mail) message. The e-mail message and the attached print job are then sent through the firewall. The print job is then detached from the e-mail message and printed.
One problem with using the e-mail method is that the print client often does not know anything about the printer to which the job will be sent. In addition, the client has no means of readily discovering information about the printer. Thus, the client cannot easily determine the capabilities of the printer or which driver should be used for the printer. Additionally, even if the client could determine the appropriate driver, the client may be in a remote location without access to the correct driver for the printer.
According to principles of the present invention, a printer driver is installed on a client computer. The client requests the driver from a print server. The print server identifies a printer served by the print server. The print server retrieves a driver for the printer and a description of the printer""s capabilities. The driver and the description are packaged into an electronic mail (e-mail) message and sent to the client. Software installed on the client unpackages the driver and the description from the e-mail and installs the driver on the client. The software also creates a port on the client and attaches the port to the printer driver.
According to further principles of the present invention, the print server determines a user of the client and compares the user to a list of allowed users. If one of the users on the list of allowed users matches the user of the client, the print server provides the print driver to the client. If there is no match, the print server does not provide the driver to the client.
A printer may be setup on the client machine by simply entering the destination e-mail address of the printer in the client software. A series of e-mail messages are traded between the print client software and the print server, which automatically sets up the printer on the client machine. At no point does the user need to know anything about the printer except its e-mail address.
Other objects, advantages, and capabilities of the present invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds.